Roasted Beef Tenderloin Question

Today is my wife, Eileen's, 50th. Birthday and we're having a small gathering, about 15 people over for roasted whole beef tenderloin with tons of different sides. I know we want to pull the tenderloins at about 120 degrees internal but what is a good roasting oven temperature? That's the one thing that is inconsistant across the internet. All help from experienced roasters is most welcome.

Drew

I've done whole strip loins, about 15 lbs., on the charcoal grill. Rubbed them with Montreal seasoning. You have to keep an eye on them, as the fatty side can flare up, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but you don't want it get out of control. Then carve it in the kitchen after a short rest.

I find that a fairly hot roast works best in our oven. It's the technique recommended by Barbara Kafka in her "Roasting" cookbook. I go at least 400, sometimes up to 450. We tend to get a nice crust on whatever we're roasting that way. One potential downside is that if there's a lot of fat in the meat it can generate a lot of smoke and a messy oven (which is something that Howie's technique avoids). Note that most of my experience is with chicken and not beef.

I'll be curious to hear what others have to say on this.

[Robin Garr]

I've always had best luck with an all-hot, fast-roast technique - start at 400 or 450 and keep it there.

By the way, a very happy day to Eileen as she celebrates a big round number!

[Jenise]

Oh dear, I'm going to disagree with all of you, which in fact makes a useful point: there's more than one way to do it. And that's why the temps are all over the place, Drew: any time you roast you have the option of lower temp/more time or higher temp/less time. The latter method is fine for something large like a prime rib, but the smaller the meat the more control you have at lower temperatures and the lower the risk of overcooking by either 1) staying in the oven too log and 2) carry-over cooking of the meat closest to the surface once the desired internal temperature has been reached. Furthermore, you want rare and a perfect, uniform rosy red literally from edge to edge? Don't rely on the roasting process to give you your color. Here's what you do: sear the meat first, either in a skillet or on your barbecue if you have a gas grill to make that easy and instant. Once seared, allow it to rest and cool 20-30 minutes. Then roast it at 300 F, allowing about 20 minutes per pound for planning purposes but of course rely on your thermometer to tell you when it's done. You will have the prettiest, tenderest tenderloin you've ever cooked, I promise. Agree with Howie about using a rub to give the surface add flavor.

Thanks for the replies but I didn't get to yours, Jenise, until after the party. I seared three equal, consistant sized tenderloins (about 4 lbs each) after an oil, garlic and herb rub then a rub of Montreal Seasoning. After searing I roasted in a 450 degree oven until internal was about 122 but this is where it got tense. I checked all three and got consistant temps at about 107 but 4 minutes later while two registered 122, the third registered 135! So it was close to medium/well when it was sliced but a lot of the guests hit that one first because they like well done meat . So the party was a great success. No real geeky wines as most of the bunch wasn't into that, but I did open a magnum of 2003 Worthy Sophies Cuvee which was at it's peak and drinking lovely.

[Robin Garr]

In retrospect, Drew, I fell down in that I didn't mention carryover cooking time, which can be significant with high-temp roasting. It might be a good idea to pull it 10 degrees short of target and give it a few minutes to carry over and set up. But it sounds like this accident suited your guests just fine and I would hope the middle section stayed hot pink at worst.

I must just say how delicious this thread sounded.

[Jenise]

I checked all three and got consistant temps at about 107 but 4 minutes later while two registered 122, the third registered 135!

Although it sounds like everything worked out fine, you did learn firsthand why the benefits of slower cooking matter--especially at a large dinner party where you as host have a lot of things vying for your attention.

Oh dear, I'm going to disagree with all of you, which in fact makes a useful point: there's more than one way to do it. And that's why the temps are all over the place, Drew: any time you roast you have the option of lower temp/more time or higher temp/less time. The latter method is fine for something large like a prime rib, but the smaller the meat the more control you have at lower temperatures and the lower the risk of overcooking by either 1) staying in the oven too log and 2) carry-over cooking of the meat closest to the surface once the desired internal temperature has been reached. Furthermore, you want rare and a perfect, uniform rosy red literally from edge to edge? Don't rely on the roasting process to give you your color. Here's what you do: sear the meat first, either in a skillet or on your barbecue if you have a gas grill to make that easy and instant. Once seared, allow it to rest and cool 20-30 minutes. Then roast it at 300 F, allowing about 20 minutes per pound for planning purposes but of course rely on your thermometer to tell you when it's done. You will have the prettiest, tenderest tenderloin you've ever cooked, I promise. Agree with Howie about using a rub to give the surface add flavor.

I want to expand on Jenise's point here. There is a fundamental difference between higher and lower temperature roasting, and it has to do with the level of doneness desired. The higher the temperature, the greater the temperature differential established between the surface of the meat and the interior. If you want to cook a roast rare, cook it at high temperature for shorter time to avoid overcooking. If you want to cook a roast well done, you do it at lower temperature and for longer times, where the temperature is more even throughout the meat and you can cook the interior to donenesss without desiccating the surface. As Jenise points out, though, the higher the temperture you use, the finer the control you need to avoid overcooking. FWIW, a friend of mine says that the best roast beef of his life was a Heston Blumenthal recipe that involved searing the meat with a blow torch then cooking it at 150°F for an extended period (8 hr or something like that). He said that the meat was the tenderest and most flavorful of his life (he's a professional chef).

Mark Lipton